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Brazil

Portuguese is the first language of the vast majority of Brazilians, but numerous foreign words have expanded the national lexicon. The Portuguese language has undergone many transformations, both in the mother country and in its former colony, since it was first introduced into Brazil in the 16th century. The two countries have largely standardized their spellings, but pronunciations,...

...while those to the south speak predominantly Tupian languages. Tupian was used as a lingua franca between Europeans and Indians until the Portuguese became dominant in the 19th century; nonetheless, Brazilian Portuguese has been heavily influenced by Tupian. Finally, there are known to be “undiscovered” Indian groups living in the Amazon region—i.e., those located so remotely...

comparison with European Portuguese

Brazilian Portuguese varies from European Portuguese in several respects, including several sound changes and some differences in verb conjugation and syntax; for example, object pronouns occur before the verb in Brazilian Portuguese, as in Spanish, but after the verb in standard Portuguese. Despite differences in phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, Portuguese is often mutually intelligible...

pronunciation of letter “r”

...with local friction. In most modern dialects of Provence the distinction between the two
r sounds is still made (though Occitan dialects in general are adopting the French pronunciation). Brazilian Portuguese uses a similar contrasting pair of
r sounds, with the usual trilled
r represented in orthography by a single
r and a velar, or “rough,”
r...

significance in Portuguese language

...groups, all mutually intelligible: (1) Central, or Beira, (2) Southern (Estremenho), including Lisbon, Alentejo, and Algarve, (3) Insular, including the dialects of Madeira and the Azores, and (4) Brazilian. Standard Portuguese was developed in the 16th century, basically from the dialects spoken from Lisbon to Coimbra. Brazilian (Brasileiro) differs from the Portuguese spoken in Portugal in...